Cranberry Orange and Carrot Bread

After the mild days for this time of year, we have been smacked down with a blistering cold.

I hate being cold.

I was born in January, yet it’s the worst time of year in my opinion. Go figure!

There is one thing I like about Winter. The only thing I look forward to when it’s 20 degrees outside.

It’s my afternoon tea. I love my steaming hot cup of tea! My favorite flavor is peppermint but a traditional black one with a slice of lemon will make me happy too. 🙂

I do start with coffee every morning, despite the season, but every Winter afternoon – I have tea.

I wanted to make a sweet bread that would go well with my tea. Aaaaaand because it’s January, and we are supposed to have healthy food ( who said that? ), or at least healthier, I came up with this combo: carrots, orange and of course cranberries. ( Didn’t you know I still have 5 bags of cranberries in my freezer? ).

To really get the orange flavor through, I grated zest from two oranges. It was perfect!

Knowing that I could ( and probably will ) inhale a whole loaf myself, I decided to make a double recipe – for two loafs. Hey, you can always share with your neighbors! 🙂 Right?

Anyhow, if you enjoy an afternoon with a cup of something hot ( be it tea or coffee ), you need this bread to go with it. Trust me, you do.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients together ( flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon ). In a medium mixing bowl, combine the rest of ingredients and mix by hand using wooden spoon or spatula. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix gently, do not over mix. Divide batter among your prepared pans. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for few minutes in a pan and then invert onto a cutting board. Cool completely before cutting.

Do you have a favorite tea flavor? What do you like to have with your tea?

I love a warm drink in my hands and a delicious pastry sitting beside me. So cozy. We're bracing for a big winter storm here and this bread would be the perfect snowy day baking project. Mmm…comforting and delicious! I hate being cold too and am so ready for some warm sun on my face. Have a beautiful day Anna!

I love the bright flecks of red from the cranberries. This bread looks so tasty. I love to drink afternoon tea in the fall and winter with a spot of milk and honey. This would certainly be the perfect pairing.

You and I are kindred spirits…except I drink tea all day long to keep warm. We actually hit 50º today…unheard of for January! I love your bread…less guilt eating a few slices of this compared with some carrot cake 🙂

I hate the cold weather too! I was from the sunny Singapore before migrating to Australia…and now I complained about the cold weather and I think I'm asking for too much :p Now, I hate being upside down…being in Australia, I can't relate our current season to everyone who are mostly opposite of us…LOL

I also hate being cold! I live in Phoenix now, and while I'm lucky to have warm winters, I think my definition of cold has changed, and now mornings in the upper 30's have me freezing! I could definitely go for a cup of tea and a slice of this bread then. I love the cranberry orange combination, but the addition of carrot is something I wouldn't have thought of…definitely a health food addition! PS: I have a giveaway going on now that I think you might be in to!

Thank you for paying me a visit. I love tea. My favorites are Tzso mint and Aveda's tea. It's so soothing and comforting – its my new favorite.

I have my tea with almost anything but love it with my Jammie's and socks on all curled up on the sofa either watching tv or reading a book. Although I think I'd enjoy it with your cranberry orange bread as well.

I so agree with you about winter and your bread is perfect for afternoon tea! It's 15 degrees here now and how I'd love a slice of this bread. Yum! The color of it is great and it's bookmarked. I'm new here and so glad to follow your blog! I'll be looking around at all your goodies now. Thanks!

I totally agree with you, I hate the cold. I say it's because I come for a tropical island and my body can't adjust. 🙂 I would hibernate if I could… pretty much do. I come from Sri Lanka and that's the land of tea. We get a lot of tea from there and truthfully my favorite is some plain tea with lemon. I actually like ice tea (defeats the purpose in winter). Now onto your beautiful bread. It's really wonderful. I just used up my cranberries last week and I'm already missing them. I would have loved to make this kind of bread. Lovely recipe with the oranges and carrot.. beautiful pictures too. Have a great weekend! Ramona 🙂

Hi Jenn! I am so excited to see you here! Mango green tea sounds great! I had white pear green tea before and it was sooo good – I will be on the look out for the mango kind. Thank you and welcome to CCS! Hugs!